Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolates melt and mixture is smooth. Remove pan from heat. Mix in finely crushed mints and 6 1/2 tablespoons sugar. Cool mixture to lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Whisk eggs into chocolate mixture, 1 at a time, then whisk in vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in small bowl to blend. Whisk flour mixture, then chocolate chips into chocolate mixture. Cover batter and chill until firm enough to shape, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 1 generous tablespoonful for each cookie, roll dough between moistened palms into 1 1/4-inch-diameter balls, then arrange on prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until puffed and cracked on top but still soft to touch in center, about 11 minutes. Let stand on sheets 5 minutes. Press coarsely crushed mints onto tops of cookies or sprinkle with powdered sugar. Transfer to racks; cool completely. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight between sheets of waxed paper in refrigerator.)

Menus & Tags

Tags:

Leave a Review

Reviews

These cookies came out really well. I used Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips (I had it on hand) instead of crushed peppermints. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. Chilled the dough about 6 hours. My cookies turned out like the picture (bonus!) and did not spread. Made about 36 cookies.

I read through the reviews and decided to go with milk chocolate - although the cookies did flatten and look nothing like the photo - the flavor and texture are so niceI would stick with the milk chocolate and will make these again and again. Very fudgy and just a perfect hint of mint.

I've made these several times over the years and they are always delicious, but some batches are better than others. I seem to have the best success when I slightly underbake (10 minutes in my oven); take them out when they're still shiny and put the crushed candy on them right away as they set up really fast. I also thought they could be a tiny bit sweeter, so I tried using milk chocolate chips (Ghirardelli) instead of bittersweet and chopped them up before adding; this gave the cookies a very fudgy taste. I make them slightly smaller (1") since they're so rich. They do flatten out but still look great, especially with a light dusting of powdered sugar!

I am having a hard time with these cookies...and I don't think there is anything wrong with this recipe but I thought I would chime in. These are way too rich for my taste. Too intense. Too much. If you go for over the top then these are your cookies. Beware!

LOVE these cookies! Second year making them - they are so delicious with a nice fudgy texture, and with the peppermint very festive. The only thing to be aware of is if you refrigerate the mixture overnight you will need to take it out of the fridge at least an hour or two before using as it sets hard as rock!

Just made these again for the 4th year in a row. I follow the recipe exactly with the exception that the crushed mint goes into the cookies right out of the oven so that they stick once the cookies cool. I only chilled the dough for about an hour and that was sufficient. I also put the crushed candy through a coarse strainer to separate the dust from the crushed pieces, and put the finer candy dust into the dough and saved the bigger pieces for pressing into the tops after baking

BTW... If you're using the crushed candy for decoration, don't wait for the cookies to cool,put it on right away or the candy won't stick.
I used a small cookie scoop to shape and measure and the recipe made over 60 cookies.
I like these cooked for the 11 minutes called for in the recipe.

I have been making these for many years. I am writing this as much for you as for a note to self.
It's important to use FINELY crushed mints for the first step. Every year I forget and think the larger pieces will melt in the chocolate and they don't. Try to use the bigger pieces for the garnish stage and the ultra fine for the melted stage.
that being said these cookies are fantastic! I love brownie like texture and the bittersweet chocolate/mint combo. Use good quality chocolate.

These cookies came
out great, but when
I tasted the first
batch while cooling,
they were very
bitter. I added
some more sugar and
candy cane pieces to
the remaining batter
and those came out
amazing.
Surprisingly, the
bitter cookies
tasted great two
days later! These
were a huge hit at
our holiday party.

To crush peppermint: use a box of
candy canes, unwrapped (less to
unwrap than starlight mints, plus
you can use the green and red
peppermint ones for visual pizzazz),
put them in a freezer bag, lay the
freezer bag between two kitchen
towels, and whack them with a heavy
metal measuring cup (we use the 2
cup). This is an excellent job for
your junior assistants (kids). We've
used this technique to make
peppermint bark for years!

These were amazing! I made a three-times batch for a large crowd and people loved them. After testing with a few, I only baked them for about 6 minutes because I love that moist texture. These are quite sophisticated tasting and will become a repeat holiday cookie for me.

Very good. One of my favorite Christmas cookies. A huge hit.
I do suggest instead of using the starburst mints on top to use "milk peppermints" on top, they aren't as hard to chew but look just as good.

Decadent! Like little brownies. The peppermint wasn't as prominent as I was expecting; I would have liked a little more of a peppermint aftertaste. But overall very good if you're looking for a pepperminty chocolate brownie-cookie.

I've made these several times for christmas over the past few years and they always turn out great. This year I had chocolate nibs that I didn't know what to do with and used them instead of chocolate chips. Wonderful!! An extra punch of strong chocolate flavor with a bit more crunch and not as sweet. Just great!

These cookies were a hit last year with the inlaws and many others, BUT I did not finish them per the recipe's directions. Rather I rough-chunked a fine quality chocolate mint bar (you can probably find one in your store's candy section) into 1" x 1/2" triangles and poked a triangle into the top of each cookie while they were fresh from the oven. The added mint flavor and extra smoothness were wonderful. I'll definitely make them again this year.

I have made these cookies, as written, every year since printed in 2002. They are my favorite beating out my homemade rainbow cookies! These are fudgy and minty and addictive! The crunch only comes from the peppermint decoration on the top. Make sure to use good quality chocolate and peppermint candies. It's a winner!

This recipe was super disappointing to me. They are the kind of cookies that look better than they taste, surprisingly given how much good stuff is in them. They are sort of flavorless. I can't believe I'm saying this, but they aren't sweet enough. They have a strange bready texture. There is nothing 'crunchy' about them. I made them exactly as directed by the recipe. If anyone wants to try these, be sure to slightly under-cook them to achieve a more fudgy texture, not that that would change the flavor problems.

I always thought it was such a shame to make these cookies only at the holidays (the peppermint in my opinion=Christmas)...so I got creative and followed the recipe exactly, but in place of the crushed peppermint and peppermint extract, I used Almond Butter and Almond extract and decorated the top with slivered almonds. Because the Almond Butter really isn't sweet, I did make 1 addition, a Tablespoon of powdered sugar, added w/ the Almond Butter. These got RAVE reviews. Now I can make these all year long!